


He Says 'Interrogate', And I'm Honestly Not Sure If It's A Euphemism Or Not

by PadmeSigma



Series: Once A Glimpse Was All I Needed [1]
Category: Star Trek: Deep Space Nine
Genre: A-Z, Drabble Collection, Implied Mpreg, M/M, Rare Pairings
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-09-10
Updated: 2013-09-25
Packaged: 2017-12-26 04:34:20
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 26
Words: 2,601
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/961620
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/PadmeSigma/pseuds/PadmeSigma
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>A drabble for every letter from A to Z.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. A - Always

**Author's Note:**

> This is one of my OTPs for DS9, and I'm a bit surprised that it's so rare. This drabble collection series forms the base for a 'verse I'll probably never get a chance to work in extensively, but it seems to work alright on its own.

    Odo looks down at the unconscious man on the bio-bed. It's been days since the attack and Quark still hasn't awoken. Bashir insists that it's only a matter of time, but he can't help worrying. It feels **wrong** for his lover to be so still. Quark is always chatting, pouring, gambling, scheming, _moving_ and the creature lying immobile in sickbay is difficult to reconcile with that. It's true they fight often, but in spite of himself, Odo had long ago fallen completely, utterly in love with the animated, infuriating, alluring man. He wouldn't know what to do without him anymore.


	2. B - Bored

    A bored Ferengi is never a good thing, and – Odo knows – with Quark that is doubly true. Becoming involved hadn't done much to change their fundamental natures. He loves the other man, but he's also endlessly frustrated by him. Business at the bar having been slow for over a week, Odo easily notices the signs of ever-increasing restlessness in his lover. Eager to preempt some dubious scheme that could only end badly, Odo comes up with one of his own. It takes Quark three hours to notice the extra table, but it's two days before the bar reopens.


	3. C - Can't

    It's a well-known fact they can't go more than a few days without fighting. Frankly, it surprises people that they're capable of co-existing at all, much less maintaining a loving relationship. Everyone is sure that, one day, they're going to have the most explosive break-up in history – if they don't manage to kill each other first. What others don't realize, though, is that they enjoy their fights. They love trying to out-do one another, love the thrill of victory when they do, and – yes – they love making up afterwards. Their relationship isn't perfect – except to them.


	4. D - Date

    It shouldn't surprise him that Quark's head for figures extends to dates; numbers are numbers. Still, Odo doesn't quite know how to react when he finds the note pinned to the door of his office. Justifiably suspicious, he nevertheless follows the written instructions and makes his way to Quark's. His confusion only increases when he finds the place closed up, another note directing him to the holo-suites laying on the bar. Eyes narrowed, he stalks upstairs, preparing to demand an explanation from his infuriating lover, only to find yet another note. This one simply reads: “Happy anniversary, come on in.”


	5. E - Energy

    The closer he gets to the end of his cycle, the more sluggish Odo becomes. Though he'd never admit, Quark thinks it's adorable. He finds every excuse to be around the other man at those times, watching his slow movements and enjoying the obvious effort Odo puts into maintaining his form. Odo notices, of course; he's not head of security for nothing. Even with the amount of time they spend together, it's not hard to see a pattern in the Ferengi's flimsy excuses. If he subtly exaggerates his exertions when Quark is around, well, that's only for him to know.


	6. F - First

    When people ask how they got together, they're nearly unanimously surprised to hear that it was Odo who instigated it. For some reason, they're all under the impression that Quark had started it and dragged Odo along for the ride. It would probably be less of a shock if anyone were allowed to hear the full story – that it had started like any other argument: Quark schemed, Odo suspected, accusations occurred, denials were made. Except Odo had, without really thinking about it, gone from pinning Quark to the wall with his hands to holding him there with his lips.


	7. G - Gone

    The bar is locked up when Odo gets there, a sign on the door reading 'Closed, indefinitely'. Checking with the computer reveals that, while he was getting lectured by Jadzia and consulting Bashir, Quark had somehow managed to leave the station. He had finally succeeded in driving him away, long after he had stopped wanting to. Steeling himself, Odo requisitions a run-about; determined to track his lover down. For once, he knows he has to apologize or lose Quark. Shocked or not, accusing the other man of sleeping around had been entirely the wrong way to respond to the news.


	8. H - Home

    For years, the only place Odo had ever considered his own was the tiny office he had been given along with the position of security chief. He never requested or desired more. Superficially, that didn't change when he entered a relationship, unless one knew just where to look. The pail that had once occupied the back coroner of the security office was no longer there. If someone were to ask the location of the Constable while he was in the sixteenth hour of his cycle, the computer would reply with "Odo is currently in the personal quarters assigned to Quark."


	9. I - Idiot

    Sometimes, Quark purposefully plays up his actions when he knows his lover's around. The flirting, occasionally, but more often the underhanded tactics he uses when he's scheming. He may not always be able to keep Odo from noticing his actual schemes, but he's become incredibly good at making a harmless drink order look like a shady business deal. Admittedly, it definitely doesn't earn him any points towards making Odo less likely to suspect him when he _is_ up to something, but he's of the pragmatic view that his lover probably doesn't take 'interrogations' entirely seriously either. They're too much fun.


	10. J - Jealous

    Odo isn't entirely sure why he feels the way he does. Mentally, he knows that the incessant flirting is just a part of Quark's nature. He means nothing by it and would never follow through as long as they are committed to each other. Still, however irrational, he bristles every time his lover stands just a little too close to a customer or charms someone into giving him a larger profit. He's made a complete fool of himself more than once by fabricating some excuse to break Quark away for 'interrogations'. He's lucky that Quark is... 'appreciative' of his possessiveness.


	11. K - Kisses

    He's not really consciously thinking about it when he brushes a kiss against Quark's ear before sitting down at the bar. He'd only come in to ask a few questions about the Andorian freighter captain due to arrive at the station the next day, as the man seems to have simply appeared from nowhere – there's no record of him existing at all – and he's almost certain the man is really a spy. Quark would likely know the man if he were simply a smuggler; but – noticing the Ferengi's wild-eyed look – he probably won't be getting any answers.


	12. L - Love

    It's difficult to tell who's more shocked when Quark tells Odo he loves him. It obviously isn't what the Ferengi had intended to say; his eyes go comically wide and he actually puts a hand to his mouth. Odo's expression doesn't change and he's about to snap “Don't change the subject!” and continue his line of questioning when the words actually catch up to him. He hits the floor before Quark shakes off his bewilderment enough to notice he's managed to make Odo faint. Still stunned, he just stands there staring down at the unconscious Changeling before bursting out laughing.


	13. M - Marriage

    They've never gotten married. It's not that they're uncommitted in their relationship; they have every intention of making it last. It's just not something they've ever discussed, although both of them have their own reasons. Quark, privately, thinks his commitment means more without that legality than with it. Ferengi marriages are transitory by nature. They're contracts, business deals – though there are exceptions. He stays with Odo because he loves him, not because he's obligated to do so. Odo's reasons are similar, he simply sees no need to make a spectacle of formalizing their relationship; they know what they have.


	14. N - Nicknames

    Odo has learned to respond to Constable. He recognizes it as sign of affectionate camaraderie from his friends. 'Honey-cakes' is another matter entirely. Where Quark had come up with the name and what had possessed him to apply it to Odo, he has no clue. What he does know, is that the term is patently ridiculous and he refuses to dignify it with a reaction. Unfortunately, this only encourages his lover to keep using it. Incessantly. In public. Until finally, exasperated, he turns around and practically yells, “Yes, snookums?” For months, people constantly refer to them by those infernal nicknames.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I asked my best friend for nickname suggestions. She proceeded to name the most ridiculous things I've ever heard, so that's where it ended up going.


	15. O - Origin

    Odo returns long enough to distribute the cure to his fellow Changelings. Maybe once, long ago, he would have stayed. Now, though, the question of just what he is no longer weighs heavy on his mind. He has his answer; just not in the form of other Changelings. They are his species, but they are not like him. Not truly. He is Constable Odo, security chief. Protector of the inhabitants of DS9. The crew's friend. Quark's lover. A father. All these things have shaped him, and he will not give up the life he has made – the life he loves.


	16. P - Parents

    Tam is unique, that's certain. No one expects her to inherit her Changeling father's shapeshifting ability. If not for her pale skin, the newborn could pass for a pure Ferengi. It obviously comes as quite a shock when, at just under ten hours old, the little girl collapses into a puddle. Bashir gasps and runs off to begin administering tests. Odo blinks, and then, helplessly, he begins to laugh. Grinning, he reaches out and runs his hand along his daughter's liquid form, wondering what Quark will say about it once he comes out from under the influence of the drugs.


	17. Q - Quiet

    The words Quark and quiet are rarely used in the same sentence. If someone were to ask Odo, he would say that it's extremely suspicious if that could be said accurately. That being said, Odo has other reasons than suspicion of illegal activity to want to hear Quark's voice. He won't admit it, but he loves listening to his lover talk. He enjoys the outrageous stories, the inane chatter, and especially the flirting – so long as it's directed at him. He finds himself sitting at the bar with no particular reason in mind more often than he'd like to acknowledge. 


	18. R - Rules

    Odo breaks first. They haven't spoken to each other at all in the two weeks since their fight. Odo had ignored Quark's blatant attempts to provoke him by conducting illicit deals in plain sight, sending his officers instead. He had ignored when the flirting with customers increased ten-fold. He had ignored the crew's pleas for them to make up because their silent treatment was starting to affect station operations. However, he can't just stand and watch as a Klingon woman takes Quark's flirting as an invitation and pins him against the bar. Fighting or not, nobody touches Quark but him.


	19. S - Safe

    Quark normally makes sure he's out of their quarters, or at least out of the room, when Odo reverts into a liquid. This time, however, it's particularly late, the bar's closed, someone else is on duty, and Quark isn't really thinking about it when his lover gets up from where they've been entwined for the past few hours. He sits up, curious, and watches Odo cross to the corner of the room. His eyes widen Odo releases his control over his form and flows into the waiting pail. Surprised, but pleased, he smiles, realizing that Odo feels safe around him.


	20. T - Trust

    Odo doesn't feel comfortable showing his transformation. The only time he had allowed himself to do so once leaving the confinement of the lab was in front of Lwaxana, and – although he had befriended her – it had been a last resort. Reflecting on it later, it's a shock, that he doesn't even hesitate to drop into his pail despite the fact that Quark is currently sitting in full view of him in their shared quarters. They've been together for years at this point, but there's a difference between loving Quark and trusting him. It's only now he knows he does.


	21. U - Universe

    All teasing aside, Quark and Odo are both extremely hard-working men. As different as their professions are, they are equally dedicated to them. It's rare for them to actually manage to take a break at the same time, even if they attempted to plan it in advance. When they are able to, though, it's as though the rest of the universe fades away. All arguments are forgotten as soon as they cross into their quarters. They can fight all they want to on the outside, but, past the threshold, the universe narrows down to just each other, and nothing else.


	22. V - Verify

    It wasn't exactly intentional, but over the time they've been together, Quark and Odo have developed a little game. Whenever Odo has to leave the station for some amount of time, upon returning, if necessary he makes his report, and then he hides. Whether it's in his office, the bar, or their quarters varies, but he never lets his lover know he's back. Quark is perfectly capable of finding that out on his own. Once he ascertains that information, the hunt is on. Normally, he's very good. They don't talk about the time he tried to provoke a normal barstool.


	23. W - Weird

    There are many hybrids living on Deep Space Nine. The Bashirs' Human/Cardassian daughter, Kira and Dax's son, Worf and Counselor Troi's children, and – of course – Tam herself. It's a credit to naturalness of diversity on the station that they're almost never discriminated against because it. The one time a particularly narrow-minded planetary official had made negative comments about the children and their inter-species parents, he promptly got his ass kicked and then his ass kicked off the station. Odo, Garak, Jadzia, and Worf nearly got into a fight themselves to be the one to get him first, before joining forces.


	24. X - Xenobiology

    “And you doubted Tam was yours,” Quark says off-handedly, watching his lover patiently attempting to teach their year-old daughter to transfigure herself into a pillow. There's no bitterness in his words, but Odo's gaze snaps up anyway. The Ferengi just grins and waves Odo back to Tam. Reluctantly, he returns his attention to coaxing their daughter into a different shape, but a part of his mind remains fixated on Quark's words. He'd regretted that accusation the moment he voiced it. He knows Quark's forgiven him for doubting he could be Tam's father, but he also knows he can't forgive himself.


	25. Y - Yours

    Odo comes back. The first place he goes is the bar, eager to see his lover again. He's surprised to find it closed up and has to shake himself out of an unpleasant flashback of the day he carelessly drove his lover away. It's in the past now; Tam is nearly two years old. He forces a smile and makes his way to their quarters, certain his lover and daughter will be waiting for him there. He enters to find Quark watching Tam – who is currently a top – spin around with a sad smile. His eyes brighten when he sees his lover. He hadn't believed Odo would come home.


	26. Z - Zero

    Quark lays contentedly on his bed, mentally calculating the days expenses and plotting how to minimalism them. To all appearances, he is alone in the room. Appearances are often deceiving, however, and he puts the figures out of his mind for the moment, willing to acknowledge something that, just maybe, means more to him than any amount of profit. Instead he rests his gaze on the two pails that occupy the corner of the room, both decorated, one smaller than the other. He smiles, happy to lay there in his home, with his family, for once without a care in the universe.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, it's over. Next up will be Julian Bashir and Elim Garak.


End file.
